Tiny Solar pannels developed and uses 100 times less silicion

Sandia National Laboratories scientists have developed very small, tiny glitter-sized photovoltaic cells that could be the next revolution in the solar industry.

“So they use 100 times less silicon to generate the same amount of electricity,” said Okandan. “Since they are much smaller and have fewer mechanical deformations for a given environment than the conventional cells, they may also be more reliable over the long term.”

The photovoltaic cells are efficient only about 14-15%, which is still a good average, but they use 100 times less silicon to be make so the economy is really great.

The cells are fabricated using microelectronic and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) techniques common to today’s electronic foundries.